NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said it has neither approved nor disapproved the Election Commission's revised Form 6 for voter registration.
The observation was made by a Bench including CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that was hearing a fresh writ petition filed by Priya Mishra against the ECI, relating to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
It is to be noted that Form 6 is the statutory application for inclusion of name in electoral roll. During the hearing on Monday, the counsel for the petitioner, Mishra, told the apex court that the ECI is representing revised Form 6 as having Supreme Court approval in its affidavits and press communications.
The Bench made it clear that there was no adjudication on the new Form 6 while hearing the Bihar SIR matter. CJI Kant said, "We have neither approved nor disapproved revised Form 6," and cautioned against selectively interpreting the court's earlier observations in the Bihar case.
Even Justice Bagchi, who was part of the Bench that heard the Bihar SIR matter, clarified that revised Form 6 did not exist when the Bihar SIR matter was heard, and that the court's observations cannot be construed as either approval or disapproval.
The Supreme Court said that the ECI cannot claim judicial endorsement for its revised form and that earlier orders cannot be cited as approval for a form introduced later.
Petitioner's counsel argued that new Form 6 adds stringent declaration requirements and asks for documents not mandated under law, which could lead to large-scale exclusion of eligible voters, especially first-time voters and those without parental documents.
The Bench observed that the validity of the revised Form 6 remains open and can be examined on merits if properly challenged. It said any representation that the Supreme Court has cleared Form 6 is incorrect and misleading.
The clarification of the top court assumes significance, as the Opposition INDIA bloc has accused the EC of using the Supreme Court's name to justify the SIR exercise and changes in voter registration.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have alleged vote chori and demanded rollback of SIR. The court listed the writ petition filed by Mishra for further hearing on Tuesday, along with the batch of petitions concerning electoral roll revision and sought a response from the EC.
The Bench said it was open to examine the validity of revised Form 6, if a proper petition is filed. The CJI warned that selective reading of court orders will not be tolerated.
